Need for Speed: Roadtrip
by L131
Summary: 'Jack's life wasn't going anywhere. Whoever was supposed to be putting the drive into him wasn't doing their job; the parking break was on and the driver abandoned the vehicle. A call from a new friend changes that, though. When he's put into the driver's seat, will he take the addictive ride on the road to fulfillment, or crash and burn' Updates regularly.


_Summary: Jack's life wasn't going anywhere. Whoever was supposed to be putting the drive into him wasn't doing their job; the parking break was on and the driver abandoned the vehicle. A call from a new friend changes that, though. When he's put into the driver's seat, will he take the addictive ride on the road to fulfillment, or crash and burn?_

* * *

_Author's note_: I finally got the balls to do it. I've wanted to write this for months, and now I'm actually writing this. I timed it so when it's published, it'll be on New Year's Day. This's also kinda goin' along with my resolution; _be less lazy, even if by only a little_.

The fact that I actually went through with this pretty much can mark that as completed.

_Disclaimer_: I do not own the _Need for Speed_ franchise, nor am I involved in the work of Electronic Arts.

* * *

**Part I**

**Chapter 1**

"_Jack!_"

I did it. I actually managed to do it. The gold trophy for the Indy 500 was in my hands, my feet were upon the first place pedestal, and my name was being cheered by the masses.

"_Jack!"_

I was lost in the feeling of the limelight, the spotlight of victory, the rapture of glory. I, the Wilson's F1 Racing official driver, won the gold. I stood there in my white pleather suit, sponsors' logos on my torso along with a fairly large _12_ on the left side of my chest, looking among the thousands of faces in the crowd, and held the heavy gilded trophy above my head.

"_Jack!"_

The crowd increased in volume, and the grin on my face grew ear-to-ear. I looked down to the F1 car, the machine that I drove to victory lane. I knew that it wasn't my team's auto mechanics that made this possible, though they were a fairly large factor; it was my driving ability that got me here.

This was my doing, and no one could take that away from me.

"_Jack!_"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see quite the beauty walk towards the steps below me, her blue orbs gazing deeply into my own chocolate ones. She called my name with the crowd as she sashayed up to the podium's stairs. She was a brunette with a short, silky mane. Her skin was a lively cream colour with an excellent complexion. Her attire consisted of a black midriff V-neck sleeveless top, a gray pencil skirt that was too high to be sophisticated, but too low to say 'skank', and a pair of black three-inch black heels with gray sols and trimming.

She made it atop the podium, coexisting with me on the relatively small surface. She stood inches in front of me now, close enough for me to feel the warmth emanating from her radiant beauty.

"Jack," she calls my name once more with her melodic voice, breaking me from my trance. Only now do I notice to sound of what seems to be faint giggling amongst the cheering. In lieu of being concerned about this, I focus once more upon the angelic being in front of me, waiting for another honey-like flow from those full, glossy lips. She smirks, and says, "It's time to wake up."

The trophy dropped onto my head, hard.

* * *

"Ah! _Shhh_-" I held my head in attempt to alleviate the pain, but to no avail. I hear the other students laughing now as I stir from my slumber and suffering.

"I wouldn't have to have done that," Mrs. Hagleburg tilted the ruler to a vertical position, "if you would've at least woken up when I called your name. Then again, I wouldn't need to wake you up if you wouldn't have fallen asleep in my class. Again." She gave me a sharp glare that I didn't see until I looked up to her wrinkled face. She probably wasn't that old, no more than her early 50's, but she looked like her body aged faster from stress. She's been teaching for just about thirty years and she was stuck-up; it was bound to happen.

"I wouldn't fall asleep if your class wasn't so damn boring." I didn't exactly intend on saying that out loud, but it happened before I could stop myself. I generally didn't care though, it's not like I have a reputation to uphold. Plus, I hate 10th grade Lit, so I'm not gonna want to consciously be here the _entire_ time. She already hated my guts anyways, so what's the big deal? Apparently, it was a pretty big deal, telling by the _ooo_'s from the class.

"And you wouldn't need to go to the principal's office if you weren't so rude. Now _march_." With that, she pointed her finger at the door with a stern look on her face.

"Whatever." I stood, towering over Mrs. Hagleburg's form, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and walked towards the door. "Don't wait up," I added before making my exit, earning another fit of giggles from the class.

* * *

I knew just where to go, since I've walked on this path in the school so many times. Eagle Crest High wasn't a large school so getting lost wasn't a problem. On top of that, I've been sent to his office enough times to be able to walk there blindfolded. My going down there was the teachers' way of putting a problem they don't want to deal with on someone else's hands. The lot of the teachers don't really care enough to try to fix the problem or at least find it's cause, mainly because they just have no shits to give for the students.

I felt like just walking out of the school and just going home, but my absence would just cause problems I don't feel like putting up with again. After rounding the corner and going down two flights of stairs, I see the front office to my right at the fork, followed by the principal's office.

The front door to the school was about two metres further down the hall on the adjacent side.

As tempting as it was, I sat outside the office door in one of the two waiting chairs, like a good boy. I had about 3 minutes of waiting if no one else is in there, so I pulled the left earbud of my Skullcandy 50/50's from a small pocket I've sewn into the inside of the lining of my hoodie's hood, and put it in my ear. The earphones led into a small hole on the inside of the hoodie, into the inside of its large front pocket. I pulled out my iPod, of which the earphones were plugged into, and double-pressed the Home button to bring up the music options. First, I made sure it read: _Bomb This Track – Mindless Self Indulgence – If_, then tapped the play icon. Sliding the music player back into my pocket, I leaned my head against the wall and just lost myself in the music.

As vulgar and chaotic as the music was, I could feel myself relaxing. I don't usually act out in class, as I had a couple paragraphs ago; I was in a bad mood. A shitty day can do that to you. If I have music in my ears, something I like, of course, I relax, and I feel as though I'm in my own dimension.

Before I knew it, about four minutes passed and the principal opened the door and peeked out. I didn't know when I did, but I managed to dose off, and woke up with a start at the sound of the door opening. Since the chairs were on the left side of the door, between the main office and his, he couldn't see my earphone. I found the button on the wire of the left earphone through the fabric and pressed it, pausing the music, and slid it down, into the hoodie.

"Jack." He said flatly.

"Principal Rourke." I replied in the same tone.

He gestured into the office and I picked up my bag in the seat next to mine and walked in, giving him a smirk as I went in. He followed me into the office, closing the door behind him, and let out a deep sigh. I took my seat in front of his large desk, the door now behind me. He shut it and made his way behind his desk, and simply stared out of the large window that encompasses the majority of the back wall.

My eyes wandered to the towering bookshelves on the left wall, filled with books ranging from Dictionaries to _Ulysses_. That's what we usually do when I come in here. We sit there in comfortable silence for a short while, each passing minute making the thought of grabbing one of those books and plugging into my music more seductive. I almost did, but then I remembered that this guy would get on my ass for it, thus, I remain sitting.

After what feels like an eternity, he finally turns around and looks at me, and sits in his leather chair across from me. What took him so long? What's so interesting outside of that window? He usually takes about a good two-minutes less.

"What the hell is so interesting out there, anyway?" I ask.

"Interesting?" he replies.

"Yeah, you've been staring outside the for a while. What's so interesting as to keep your attention for that long?" I'm honestly curious as to what it could be, seeing as though the only thing outside of that window is a half-dead town.

He chuckles softly, then follows it up with, "Nothing, really." He takes off his glasses, leans onto the desk on his elbows, and almost frowns.

"Interesting would almost be the wrong word. For, you see, as much interest as I take in the beauty of the spring leaves falling with a flutter, shining with the golden light of the sun, I take thrice the interest in the curious case of you, Dr. Jackyl, and Mr. Hyde.

I have no idea what the hell this guy is talking about.

Apparently my face showed it, seeing as though he went on to elaborate with, "It has yet to dawn on me how a man of such potential, such as yourself, could be such a delinquent. This interests me far more than nature watching, but I needed time to… get my mind in order." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Basically, he still doesn't get how _I_, a well-mannered student with a 3.6 GPA on the AB Honor Roll, who also skipped a grade in the math and science areas, could turn such an asshole in a single class period. Got it.

"You know I can't keep vouching for you, Jack. The stunts you pull are something you are going to be accountable for. I've saved your ass from getting expelled, twice. You can't keep going like this. So, I'm not going to keep helping you go this way. You have detention as punishment for a minor offence."

With that, he nodded his head towards the door, which is my cue to get out. I stood up, my backpack still on my back, and left without another word.

* * *

_A/N_: Found any grammatical/spelling errors I missed? Message me. Be specific. Doin' my best to make sure that chapter II is up by Jan 17. If anyone bothers to read this, that is. If anyone is, pass it around, tell your friends. It gets interesting.


End file.
